Hood latch



Dec. 27, 1949 A. CLAUD-MANTLE 2,492,683

. noon LATCH Fil'ed Sept. 24, 1947- 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec? 1949 A.CLAUD-MANTLE 2,492,683

HOOD LATCH Filed Sept. 24, 194? 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 27, 1949CLAUDMANTLE 2,492,683

' noon LATCH 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 24, 1947 3? 48 Z7 44 E i 2.6

Patented Dec. 27, 1 949 I v I K I I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 29 andadapted to be pulled by a cable 30 for releasing the keeper. Amanipulating member, shown as a knob 3| connected to the cable 30, islocated within the car. The safety catch member is indicated at 32, thisbeing a pivoted lever pivoted at the lower end and mounted upon thelower latch member, and cooperating with the keeper in the mannerhereinafter described. This safety lever is under the influence of thehelical spring 33, which is the lid-lifting spring, and which lifts thelid by acting against the lower edge of the keeper. The keeper has ahead in the form of a fiat member provided with a rearwardly disposedshoulder indicated at 34, which cooperates with the latching lever, anda forwardly disposed shoulder to cooperate with the upper end portion ofthe safety lever 32, the latter lever being equipped at its upper endportion with a manipulating pad portion 36.

The member 25 is in the form of a sheet metal cup which may be screwedor otherwise connected to transverse member 22, and it has welded in itslower portion a small block having a threaded socket into which isscrewed the threaded shank of the keeper, the keeper being locked inposition by a lock nut, as disclosed in Patent 2,333,465. The shoulders34 and 35 provided at the upper part of the head 31 of the keeper areidentical, and located at the same elevation on the keeper, and eitherone may act in conjunction with the latching lever while the other actsin conjunction with the safety lever 32, in the manner hereinafterdescribed. The keeper is adjusted verticallyby turning it in its upperthreaded socket, and by the arrangement described a nicer verticaladjustment of the keeper is possible, the increments of adjustment beingturns of 180 rather than 360. The front and rear edges of the keeperhead are shaped to provide a wedge-shaped head that is slightly roundedin side elevation, the front and rear edges and also the lower edgebeing somewhat sharpened by beveling.

The latch plate 26 is a rectangular plate provided at the corners withholes, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, so that it can be screwed to thetransverse carrying member 23, which member is suitably cut away toreceivethe latch plate. The corner holes are indicated at 38, and theseare somewhat elongated so as to permit some adjustment of the latchplate transversely of the hood. The aperture or slot 21 in the latchplate which receives the keeper has an enlarged extension 39 at the rearedge (Fig. 9) and an enlarged extension 40 at the forward edge, saidextensions being adapted to accommodate the front and rear edges,respectively, of the keeper head. The latch lever 28 has the shape shownin Fig. 12, the same having an end portion 4| underlying the latch plateand pivoted thereto by riveted pivot pin 4| The other end portion of thelever, which is designated 42, is located for the most part at the upperface of the plate, said portion being offset from the lower portion andhaving an outer end provided with a lug 43 connected to the cable 3|],and an inner end joined to the portion 4| and passing through amotion-limiting arcuate slot 44 in thelatch plate. Portion 4| of thelatch lever has at one side an extension 44 located immediately beneaththe slot enlargement 39. This part 44 which is the latching part, isnormally held in the relation shown in Fig. 9 by the coil spring 29,said spring being connected at one end to lug 46 on the latching lever,and at the opposite end to a depending lug 41 at the forward end of thelatch plate.

' keeper slot.

Between the slot enlargements 39 and 46 the metal of the latch plate 26is bent at each side of the slot, as indicated at 48 (Fig. 11) so as toprovide an upwardly flaring throat for receiving and centering thekeeper head, this throat being similar to the one shown in Patent2,333,465.

Rigid with the latch plate and depending from the lower partthereof arecheek members 49 that are used for mounting the lid-lifting spring 33,there being two opposing cheeks directed in planes longitudinal withrespect to the hood, said cheeks being at opposite sides of and parallelto the These cheeks may be conveniently formed at integral parts of aU-shaped sheet metal member which has its upper ends rigidly fixed tothe latch plate by suitable means. In the case illustrated the upperends of the cheeks are'curved outwardly and received in grooved portionsof the latch plate, which grooved portions are created as incidents tothe formation of the throat-forming parts 48. In the case shown, theupper ends of the cheek members are welded in these grooves. The lowerconnecting part of the U member providing the cheek members is indicatedat 50.

The lid-lifting spring 33 encircles the cheeks 49 in the manner shown inthe drawings, and this spring has an upper end portion, indicated at 5|,that is directed diametrically of the spring coil and guided in avertical direction by engagement with slots 52 provided in therespective cheek members. The slots 52 extend at their upper ends topoints substantially at the level of the lower edge of the flaringthroat in the latch plate, and at their lower ends the slots 52 areextended slightly into the bottom or connecting member 50, as appearsfrom Fig. 10. The spring part 5| is adapted to be engaged by the keeper,as the keeper moves to the latched position, thus compressing the spring33. The lower end of the spring rests against and is receivedin a restplate 53. This plate is a sheet metalplate of a width substantiallyequal to that of the frame providing the cheek members and having sidenotches 54 in which the cheek members are accommodated. The rest platerests on the bottom of the frame, and it has a curved rear edge portionprovided with an upstanding flange 55 positionin the lowermost turn ofthe lifting spring.

At its forward edge the rest plate 53 has a transverse extension 56 bentaround a pin 51 that provides a pivot for the safety lever 32 at thelower end of said lever. The lever 32 is of duplex formation, havingsheet metal legs that are extended over the ends of the pin 51, afterwhich the ends of the pin are riveted over. The lever 32 is of curvedshape, as shown, so as to extend upwardly and rearwardly over a notchedportion 58 provided upon the forward edge of the latch plate, thisnotched portion being formed by bending down a part of the forward edgeof the plate. The lug 41, previously described, may be formed as a partof this bentdown portion, the same being at one side thereof,

manipulating pad 36 is attached) is in overhang-- ing relation withrespect to the keeper head, as

sh n in Fig. 6.- e por on 62 is t e in erm dia e r connec po ion of aelement in the shape of an inverted U which serves as a safety at h- Atthe forward end of the slot extension .40, previously described, adepending integral lug $3 is provided upon the latch plate, said lugbeing useful in cooperating with the forward ed e of the keeper head asthe keeper head moves into and out of the latchin position.

The m nipu i p 35 y be nnected to the upper connecting portion 62 of theU- shaped safety catch in a convenient manner, as y we din In thelatched position of the hood the safety catch has a location andposition such as those shown in Fig. 1, the safety catch lever beingdisposed forwardly of the keeper and forwardly of the latching means,the pivot of the catch lever being disposed within the fixed part of thehood near the front end at a level some.- what below the upper edge ofthe fixed part, and the pad portion of the safety catch extendingforwardly and upwardly so that the free end of the pad portion extendsslightly above the lower edge of the lid, as shown in Fig. 1.

The operation of releasing the latch will be clear from the foregoingdescription. The spring as, reacting against the lower end of thespringpositionin-g frame, acts on the keeper to move the lid upwardly.This movement continues until the keeper head engages the safety catchin the position shown in Fig. 2, and when the keeper engages the catchthe impact is taken up by reason of the resilient mounting of the lowerend of the catch, described above. As the keeper head engages the safetycatch, the safety catch lifts bodily to a certain extent, the rest plate53 swinging up against the resiliently resisting and moving forward partof the spring coil, the rear part of the spring coil serving as a pivot,as will be apparent from Fig. 7. The arrangement is such that, when thekeeper engages the safety catch lever, a limited upward translatingmovement of said lever mitted. The lid is at this time held againstfurther upward movement by the safety catch. The attendant then placeshis hand upon the forward end of the safety catch pad, as indicated inFig. 2, and by depression of this forward end to a slight extent thesafety device is released, the safety member being swung forwardly. Itis then very ,convenint for the attendant to release the pad, and, byturning over his hand, to lift the lid from the lower edge of thelatter, as indicated in Fig. 3.

In the operation of closing the hood, the keeper in descending has itscurved or cam-shaped forward edge engage the rear edge of the safetylever top, which rear edge in this instance is provided by the rear edgeof the pad, which causes the safety catch to be cammed forwardly, and,when the upper edge of the keeper head passes below the adjacent part ofthe safety catch, the latter part moves to the position of Figs. 1 and6,

It is understood that the cushioning of the safety catch is provided bythe same spring which acts to lift the hood, thus simplifying thestructure. The lifting spring is very effective in its lid-liftingaction inasmuch as it is a spring in the form of an upright coil havingeffective engagement with the lower edge of the keeper head by reason ofthe guiding of the upper end portion .or finger of the spring by thecheek memis per.-

hers. The lifting spring is also well protected by the lower latch plateso that it cannot be readily displaced or injured or prevented fromoperating satisfactorily to lift the lid. The device has the advantagethat the safety catch is mounted on the lower plate rather than theupper plate of the latch structure, which enables the safety catch to bemore accurately positioned when the latch is installed in the hood. Thecushioning of the safety catch not only does away with shocks and noise,but preserves the parts against breakage. The upper 'part of the latchwhich carries the keeper can be of simple structure, and the keeper isreadily accessible for adjustments or replacement. It is alsoadvantageous to provide the keeper with a head having shoulders atopposite sides for cooperation with the latching lever and the safetycatch, respectively, a given shoulder being usable with either the latchlever or the safety catch, and it is of advantage to have the latchlever or similar catch member disposed rearwardly of the keeper, and thesafety catch lever disposed forwardly of the keeper.

It is tohe understood that various changes and modifications may bemadein the structure shown without departure from the principles of theinvention or'the scope of the claims.

. What I claim is:

i. In a hood latch for hoods of the alligator type having a primarylatch including members located respectively on the lid and on the fixedpart of the hood, a safety catch for limiting the opening movement ofthe lid comprising parts mounted on the respective Parts of the hood andadapted to engage each other when the lid is lifted to a predeterminedextent, one of said safety catch parts being a manually movable part,and. means for cushioning the lid-limiting action of said safety catch,said movable safety catch part'having a pivot on which it is swingable,and said cushioning means comprising a resiiient mounting for said pivotmounting it for upward translating movement.

2. In a hood latch for alligator hoods including a fixed keeper on thelid, 2. cooperating latching device on the lower part of the hood, and aspring which lifts the lid upon its release, a pivoted safety catchcarried by the lower part of the hood, an upwardly movable base memberto which said catch is pivoted, and a cushion-ing spring pressingagainst said base member in a downward, direction.

3. In a hood latch for alligator hoods including a fixed keeper on thelid, a cooperating latching device ong-the lower part of the hood, and aspring which lifts the lid upon its release, a piyomd safety catchcarried by the lower part of the hood, said safety catch having a pivotwhich is movably and resiliently supported, support of said pivot beingprovided by the lid-liftn spring.

4. In a hood latch for alligator-type hoods in there is. a primary latchbetween the lid and the fixed part of the hood and in which a springlifts the lid when and as it is released, a safety catch lever having apivot, and a support connected to said pivot movably and resilientlymounted on the lower part of the hood.

5. In a hood latch for alligator-type hoods in which there is a primarylatch between the lid and the fixed part of the hood and in which aspring lifts; the lid when and as it is released, a safety catch leverhaving a pivotal support movable and resiliently mounted on th lower 7part of the hood, the lid-lifting spring being a coil carried by thelower part of the hood, and said pivotal support having support fromsaid spring.

6. In a hood latch comprising upper and lower plates, of which the uppercarries a depending rigid keeper, the lower plate having mounted thereonmovable detent means adapted to overlie the keeper to latch the hood, anupright helical spring located at the under portion of the lower plateand having a substantially diametrically located upper end portionextending transversely to the keeper and acting on the keeper frombeneath for urging the keeper in an upward direction, and meansproviding an upright guide for the upper end portion of the spring.

'7. In a hood latch comprising upper and lower plates, of which theupper carries a depending rigid keeper, the lower plate having mountedthereon movable detent means adapted to overlie the keeper to latch thehood, an upright helical spring located at the under portion of thelower plate and having a substantially diametrically located upper endportion extending transversely to the keeper and acting on the keeperfrom beneath for urging the keeper in an upward direction, and meansproviding an upright guide for the upper end portion of the spring, saidmeans comprising a frame depending from the lower plate and havingslotted sides in which the upper end portion of the spring is guided.

8. In a hood latch comprising upper and lower plates, of which the uppercarries a depending rigid keeper, the lower plate having mounted thereonmovable detent means adapted to overlie the keeper to latch the hood, anupright helical spring located at the under portion of the lower plateand having a substantially diametrically located upper end portionextending transversely to the keeper and acting on the keeper frombeneath for urging the keeper in an upward direction, and meansproviding an upright guide for the upper end portion of the spring, saidmeans comprising a frame depending from the lower plate and havingslotted sides in which the upper end portion of the spring is guided,the coil portion of said spring being in embracing relation to saidframe.

9. In a hood latch comprising upper and lower plates, of which the uppercarries a depending rigid keeper, the lower plate having mounted thereonmovable detent means adapted to overlie the keeper to latch the hood, anupright helical spring located at the under portion of the lower plateand having a substantially diametrically located upper end portionextending transversely to the keeper and acting on the keeper frombeneath for urging the keeper in an upward direction, and meansproviding an upright guide for the upper end portion of the spring, saidmeans comprising a frame depending from the lower plate and havingslotted sides in which the upper end portion of the spring is guided,the coil portion of said spring beingin embracing relation to saidframe, the hood latch also having a safety catch member resilientlysupported from the lower end of said spring.

10. In a hood latch comprising upper and lower plates of which the uppercarries a depending keeper, the lower plate having mounted thereonmovable detent means adapted to overlie the keeper to latch the hood, aspring located at the under portion of the lower plate and acting on thekeeper from beneath for lifting the lid of the hood, and a safety catchmember resiliently supported from said spring and limiting the openingmovement of the lid when said detent means is released.

11. In a hood latch comprising upper and lower plates of which the uppercarries a depending keeper, the lower plate having mounted thereonmovable detent means adapted to overlie the keeper to latch the hood, aspring located at the under portion of the lower plate and acting on thekeeper from beneath for lifting the lid of the hood, and a safety catchmember resiliently supported from said spring and limiting the openingmovement of the lid when said detent means is released, said springbeing in the form of an upright coil, said safety catch member having apivot resiliently supported from the lower end of said spring. V

12. In a hood latch comprising upper and lower plates of which the uppercarries a depending keeper, the lower plate having mounted thereonmovable detent means adapted to overlie the keeper to latch the hood, aspring located at the under portion of the lower plate and acting on thekeeper from beneath for lifting the lid of the hood, and a safety catchmember resiliently supported from said spring and limiting the openingmovement of the lid when said detent means is released, said springbeing in the form of an upright coil, said safety catch member having apivot resiliently supported from'the lower end of said spring, the lowerplate having a depending frame in respect to which said spring is inembracing relation, and said safety catch member being pivoted to a restplate interposed between said spring and the bottom of said frame.

13. In a hood latch comprising upper and lower plates of which the uppercarries a depending keeper, the lower plate having mounted thereonmovable detent means adapted to overlie the keeper at the rear part ofthe keeper to latch the hood, a lid-lifting spring located at the underportion of the lower plate, and a safety catch member pivotally mountedfrom the lower plate and co-acting with the keeper at the forward partof the keeper.

14. In a hood latch comprising upper and lower plates of which the uppercarries a depending keeper, the lower plate having mounted thereonmovable detent means adapted to overlie the keeper at the rear part ofthe keeper to latch the hood, a lid-lifting spring located at the underportion of the lower plate, and a safety catch member pivotally mountedfrom the lower plate and co-acting with the keeper at the forward partof the keeper, the keeper having a forwardly disposed shoulder tocooperate with said safety catch member, and a rearwardly disposedshoulder to cooperate with said detent means.

15. In a hood latch comprising upper and lower plates of which the uppercarries a depending keeper, the lower plate having mounted thereonmovable detent means adapted to overlie the keeper at the rear part ofthe keeper to latch the hood, a lid-lifting spring located at the underportion of the lower plate, and a safety catch member pivotally mountedfrom the lower plate and co-acting with the keeper at the forward partof the keeper, the keeper having a forwardly disposed shoulder tocooperate with said safety catch member, and a rearwardly disposedshoulder to cooperate with said detent means, said shoulders being atthe same level.

- 16. A hood latch comprising upper and lower plates of which the uppercarries a depending flat keeper disposed in a vertical plane longi- 9tudinal to the hood, the keeper having lateral shoulders at oppositeedges, a primary latch member cooperating with one of said shoulders,and a safety catch member cooperating with the other shoulder.

17. A hood latch comprising upper and lower plates of which the uppercarries a dependin flat keeper disposed in a vertical plane longitudinalto the hood, the keeper having lateral shoulders at opposite edges, aprimary latch member cooperating with one of said shoulders, and asafety catch member cooperating with the other shoulder, said shouldersbeing at the same level and each being adapted to cooperate with eitherthe primary latch member or the safety catch member, and the keeperhaving a screw-threaded shank screwing into a socket carried by theupper plate whereby the keeper is vertically adjustable by increments of180.

18. In a hood latch, a lower plate having a slot to receive a dependingkeeper, a movable primary catch on said plate, a swinging safety catchlever movable in a vertical plane, and a spring mounted beneath saidplate and having an upper end adapted to engage the keeper to lift thehood lid and a lower part acting as a support for the safety catch leverwhich permits a limited translating movement of said lever in an upwarddirection.

19. In a hood latch for alligator-type hoods in which the lid carries afixed keeper and the fixed part of the hood carries a primary catch,

the latter being disposed rearwardly of the keeper, a pivoted upwardlyextending safety catch lever having a lower pivot carried by the lowerpart of the hood forwardly of the primary catch and the keeper, saidpivot being disposed within the fixed part of the hood, said safetycatch lever cooperating directly with the keeper by engagement with thesame to limit the opening movement of the lid.

20. In a hood latch for alligator-type hoods in which the lid carries afixed keeper and the fixed part of the hood carries a primary catch, theprimar catch being disposed rearwardly of the keeper and the keeperhaving a shoulder on the forward portion thereof, a pivoted upwardlyextending safety catch lever in the form of an inverted U pivoted at itslower end to the fixed part of the hood, the intermediate or connectingpart of the U cooperating with the said shoulder on the keeper to limitthe opening movement of the lid.

ARTHUR CLAUD-MANTLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,316,692 Hill Apr. 13, 19432,333,465 Claud-Mantle (1) Nov. 2, 1943 2,333,466 Claud-Mantle (2) Nov.2, 1943

